My 15 year old male cat has suddenly become depressed

by lore
(florida)

Baby was last seen by his vet 6 mths ago and in the best of health but recently has started acting very sad at night time. I have two other cats that he was raised with and they all get along well, but he has become very vocal every night, walking about with his toy strings and will not settle down. He seems almost edgy and shows sexual aggression to the other two by the biting and holding of their necks until the push him off. He is not interested in playing and sits looking rather sad at times. Tonight he is very quiet and very down looking. I have a long schedule away from home everyday, but they have toys, I leave soft music low on everyday and they have a balcony that I filled with plants for them to sniff. We used to live in a house and had to move into an apartment so he can not go outside anymore to a backyard but does spend at least two hours a night relaxing on a balcony on a second floor so there is no danger. But, that was a year ago since we moved so he had time to adjust. Now, he is acting very sad. He eats fine, but after he eats he kind of runs across the apartment in a nervous manner.

I have been giving him extra attention but he still seems blue and the vocalization at night is terrible. He is not in pain, just either very anxious like or down completely. What can I do more of? Do cats as they get up in age start acting this way? My other two are 14 and 6 and just fine with the attention and still like to play. Baby just sits and looks at them or down at the ground. He does purr when I pet him and likes to be rubbed but he is too serious all of a sudden. I am very worried please help. Thanks

Reply
Hi
You did not say if your cat is neutered. To answer this question I am going to assume that he is neutered.

From what you have said it is possible that he may be suffering from age related mental illness. Just like some humans some cats can start to suffer dementia and start to act differently. Although 15 is not terribly old it is getting on a bit so it may well be something like this. i have a page about these sorts of issues which will give you more information. here

http://www.our-happy-cat.com/senior-cat.html

It may be worth taking him back to your vet to have a check up, to make sure that his eye sight etc is not becoming affected for instance.

If your cat is a little distressed then their are some calming medicines available which may help. See here for more on these

scared-cats and anxiety


I hope my pages on my site are able to give you more information and help you with this situation.

best wishes kate